Smallfolk
The Smallfolk, called various names by the inhabitants of each land they call home, are less of a single race or nation, but a blessed condition found within the populations of their taller brethren. The Smallfolk are found among nearly every known race on every known continent and are considered bringers of good fortune wherever they appear. Society Origins The human smith who nearly hit himself with his hammer, the elf hunter that unawaringly dodged the pursuit of a predator, the dwarf miner that left the cave right before it caved in. All these people aided by their luck, by their Hamingja - these guardian presences are believed to be the driving force of luck and happiness in the natural world. Fables all across the known world describe their existence as that of an accompanying spirit granted to every being as a gift from the gods - or perhaps a blessing given by the world to its inhabitants. However, the connection between person and Hamingja is not a solidified state that is constant - one’s actions and the actions of their ancestors determine how closely linked each person is to their guardian, some links are so strong that there are tales of people who manage to communicate with their Hamingja, even to the point of being able to tell their Hamingja to protect someone else temporarily, but even amongst those levels of control only told of in tales - there are those who surpass it. The Smallfolk, born off the coattails of the other races, are the end result of someone that is birthed so deeply united with their Hamingja that it is impossible to tell where one being ends and the other begins. This union manifests in many ways depending on their parental heritage - some Smallfolk sport a great deal of luck, while others are told to be immune to the magic of witches - regardless of their true ability, Smallfolk tend to sport a fondness for the strange and wild, the side-effect of being united with a presence that is normally chained to a single person for life, very rarely experiencing the exciting unknowns and the beautiful sceneries of the world, as such while the birth of Smallfolk into a family is sign of good fortune and appreciation from the gods themselves, it is rare that a Smallfolk would choose to live a quiet life with their parents - instead most of them choose to live their life abroad, where they can experience all that the world reveals to them. Culture While birthed in cheerful festivities and happy families, the Smallfolk lack a place of which they could meet with people of their kind - this combined with their penchant for curiosity and wonderment, Smallfolk have gained a reputation of being lifelong wanderers in search for the world’s greatest marvels and the regional delicacies. This lifestyle means that most Smallfolk tend to find themselves working as traveling merchants or mercenaries. While Smallfolk share their parents longevity, their means of work and constant exposure to new elements and diseases tends to shorten their life to a relatively short one - this combined with their inability to have children has made it so that Smallfolk, while referenced in a great deal of tales, do not hold many important distinctions and the heroics of specific Smallfolk are short in details and easily forgotten. Religion Being exposed to a wide range of beliefs and deities, while also being naturally inclined towards the beliefs instilled to them by their parental race, as nearly all Smallfolk adhere to the belief of Henotheism - the belief of a single mythos while remaining open to the existence or possible truthfulness of neighbouring legends. Be that as it may, most Smallfolk put very little stock into mythical and godly arguments of the world, instead choosing to enjoy the phenomenons that lay in front of them regardless of which deity placed it there - there is but one exception to that attitude, and it comes forth when people challenge the existence of Hamingja in general. Believing that they share a body with such a guardian makes it so a doubt of their existence is regarded as the greatest insult that can be thrown at a Smallfolk.Category:Races